THE EMPIRE is the 13th death and deadly deathpiece by the ultimate Polish war machine, Vader. The album boasts 10 tracks of Vader’s signature brand of no frills and no fills death metal and frontman Piotr’s unbelievable death growls and guitar skills.

THE EMPIRE is a very good follow up to the exceptional TIBI ET IGNI (2014). For one more time, a new Vader album proves that few if any extreme metal acts can dish out the violence with the speed and urgency as Vader and reasserts their status at the top of the genre. One thing I really admire on Vader is the lack of any signs of experimentation and other genres’ infusion into their music. Just like AC/DC and Motorhead. No steps forward or backwards if you wish ! Only Death metal. Simple as that. While this does offer up the kind of experimentation in regards to the riff-work, there’s a strong amount of variety to be displayed here, merging the fiery, dynamic set of tremolo-picked patterns against tight, mid-tempo chugging for an altogether impressive set of riff styles to work with. Really, this seems to be the entire form of deviation on the album. With that range of attack throughout this album, there’s always some riff right around the corner to incite a sense of euphoria or excitement in the listener with that classic attack waiting to be unleashed in the coming seconds. Songs like “The Army-Geddon”, “Iron Reign” and “Tempest” will make you realize who is the boss here. In addition, together with “Feel my Pain” and the last song of this hellish collection of death metal hymns, the slow “Send Me Back To Hell”, Vader managed to impress again. Even with this band generating some of the most consistent styles in this genre, there’s a lot to like with this album. The most impressive aspect is the production for it manages to on to the areas of their sound that worked in the past while offering a really enjoyable tone that’s unique to this one.

THE EMPIRE of Vader has been spread all over the world and together with Behemoth the ‘conquered it all’! This compact album is the proof of the acclaimed ferocity and power of Vader.